| Assocname: | Azerbaijan Handball Federation |
| Abbrev: | AHF |
| Logosize: | 200px |
| Countryflag: | Azerbaijan |
| Iocnation: | Republic of Azerbaijan (AZE) |
| Url: | www.handball.az |
| Sport: | Handball |
| Othersport1: | Beach handball |
| Historytitle: | HISTORY |
| Demographicstitle: | DEMOGRAPHICS |
| Affiliationstitle: | AFFILIATIONS |
| If: | International Handball Federation |
| If Abbr: | IHF |
| If Joined: | 1992 |
| Nationalolympiccom: | National Olympic Committee of the Azerbaijani Republic |
| Continentalassoc: | European Handball Federation |
| Electedtitle: | GOVERNING BODY |
| President: | Saleh Mammadov |
| Sectitle: | HEADQUARTERS |
| Address1: | ABU Arena, K. Rahimov St. 15, 1072 Baku |
| Country: | Azerbaijan  |
| Secretarygeneral: | Yusif Atakishiyev |
| Financetitle: | FINANCE |
The Azerbaijan Handball Federation (AHF) (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Həndbol Federasi̇yasi) is the administrative and controlling body for handball and beach handball in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Founded in 1992, AHF is a member of European Handball Federation (EHF) and the International Handball Federation (IHF).[1] [2]
The organization was created with the aim of developing and popularizing handball in the country, training highly qualified sports professionals and ensuring their successful performance in the international arena, etc. To achieve its goals, the organization organizes various sports events, prepares the national teams of Azerbaijan to participate in sports events and many others for the development of handball in Azerbaijan.[3]
The history of the sports game handball dates back to 1898. However, research suggests that the history of handball origin dates back to an early time.
The first attempt to introduce handball in Azerbaijan was made back in 1926-1928, but other sports were preferred in the country at that time. For the first time, the spread of handball in Azerbaijan took place in 1955. However, it is very widespread among military athletes. As a result, handball becomes one of the main sports of the Armed Forces.
In 1956, the first Soviet handball championship was held in Vilnius, in which the team of the Baku Armed District represented Azerbaijan. The team failed to reach the final. In 1956, a course on the game of handball was organized.
In October 1958, Baku hosted the first international handball match between the national team of the capital and the team of Tbilisi, in which the team from Baku won. From 1956 to 1961, a number of handball matches were held in the Soviet Union, in which Baku teams took part.
In 1963-1969, the "Dynamo" team successfully competed in the highest league of the USSR championship. The team was among the strongest handball teams. In 1965, the Azerbaijani women's handball team began competing in the championships of the Soviet Union under the name “Spartak”. The Spartak women's team won 5 times 1970-1974. The years 1974-1976 were the heyday of handball in Azerbaijan. Handball competitions began to be held in the districts of the country. From 1976 to 1990, men's and women's handball teams from Baku began to take an active part in competitions.
Since 1991, the handball teams "Aipara", "Baku", "Haiita", "Abu" began to represent Azerbaijan at the international level.
In order to further develop handball in the country, the Azerbaijan Handball Federation was founded in 1992.[4]